1Der var nu gået lang tid, efter at Herren havde givet israelitterne fred for deres fjender. Josva var blevet en gammel mand,2og en dag kaldte han Israels ledere, dommere og administratorer til sig. „Jeg er nu en gammel mand,” begyndte han,3„og I har selv været vidne til alt det, Herren har gjort for jer i min levetid, for det var Herren, som kæmpede for jer,4og jeg har fordelt både de erobrede og uerobrede områder imellem jer. Hele landet mellem Jordanfloden og Middelhavet tilhører jer.5Herren jeres Gud vil selv drive alle de folk, som bor der nu, på flugt foran jer, så I kan tage hele landet i besiddelse, sådan som han har lovet.6Stå nu fast og overhold omhyggeligt alle de forskrifter og love, der står skrevet i Moses’ lovbog. Gå aldrig på kompromis med Guds bud!7Pas på, at I ikke blander jer med de hedenske folk, der endnu bor i landet. I må ikke dyrke deres guder eller sværge ved dem. Lad ikke engang navnene på deres guder komme over jeres læber.8Vær tro mod Herren, jeres Gud, sådan som I har været indtil i dag.9Han har drevet store og mægtige folkeslag på flugt, og ingen har kunnet holde stand imod jer.10Hver eneste af jer kan slå 1000 af dem på flugt, for Herren kæmper for jer, sådan som han har lovet.11Derfor skal I fortsat elske og adlyde ham ubetinget.12Hvis I vender jer fra ham og gifter jer med de fremmede folk omkring jer,13kan I være sikre på, at Herren, jeres Gud, ikke længere vil drive dem ud af jeres land. Da vil de blive en fælde for jer, en pisk over nakken og en torn i øjet, og I vil gå til grunde i det gode land, Herren har givet jer.14Nu er tiden kommet, hvor jeg skal dø. I har selv oplevet, hvordan alle Guds løfter til jer er gået i opfyldelse. Det var ikke tomme løfter, han gav.15-16Men lige så sikkert, som Herren har opfyldt sine løfter om velsignelse, vil han opfylde truslen om straf, hvis I er ulydige og bryder hans pagt ved at dyrke andre guder. Da vil han blive vred på jer—og I vil hurtigt blive udryddet og miste det gode land, han gav jer.”
1A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, (Josva 11,23; Josva 13,1)2Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. (5.Mos 31,28; Josva 24,1; 1.Krøn 28,1)3And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. (2.Mos 14,14; Josva 10,14; Josva 10,42)4Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. (Josva 13,2)5The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. (2.Mos 23,30; 2.Mos 33,2; 2.Mos 34,11; 4.Mos 33,53; 5.Mos 11,23; Josva 13,6)6Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, (5.Mos 5,32; 5.Mos 28,14; Josva 1,7)7that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, (2.Mos 23,13; 2.Mos 23,33; 5.Mos 7,2; Salm 16,4; Jer 5,7; Zef 1,5)8but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. (5.Mos 10,20; 5.Mos 11,22; 5.Mos 13,4; Josva 22,5)9For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. (2.Mos 23,30; 2.Mos 33,2; 2.Mos 34,11; 5.Mos 11,23; Josva 1,5; Josva 10,8; Josva 13,6; Josva 21,44)10One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. (2.Mos 14,14; 3.Mos 26,8; 5.Mos 3,22; 5.Mos 32,30; Josva 23,3)11Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. (Josva 22,5)12For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, (2.Mos 34,16; 5.Mos 7,3)13know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you. (2.Mos 23,33; 4.Mos 33,55; 5.Mos 7,16; Dom 2,3; Dom 2,21)14“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things[1] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. (Josva 21,45; 1.Kong 2,2)15But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, (3.Mos 26,14; 5.Mos 28,15)16if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”